Friday, March 12, 2010

Surprising to some but this city has a heart. In the two weeks of Olympic glory, Vancouverites let go of their shades and earplugs isolation to high-five strangers on the streets, to smile, cheer and enjoy each other's company. It's a memory that locals are calling "amazing" and "incredible". It's a memory that stirs emotions and raises questions. Was that real? Can we ever be the same? Do we want to be?

On the internet, the following video called Vancouver City featuring Linda Ganzini has gone viral with over 800,000 views on YouTube. It is an artistic collaboration between the Inner Life Project and TimeLapseHD. If you have the broadband connection, I recommend viewing it in HD and taking the time to let it buffer first. As a Vancouverite, I think it captures some of the dreaminess that locals feel living in this place.

Today, 60,000 people have given their heads a good shake and despite cold rains are heading down to BC Place for the Opening Ceremonies of the Paralympic Games. Now, with very little media hype and the Olympic apparatus in the process of deconstruction, Vancouver finds itself inspired to support a second torch relay and the relighting of the flame.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Immediately prior to the Vancouver Olympics' Opening Ceremonies on NBC, Tom Brokaw explained Canada to Americans in just six minutes - well worth a look!

On Day 1 of the Games, between two and three thousand spirited Vancouverites formed a "flash mob" the whole length of a Robson St. block to kick off one of the greatest people parties ever.

Courtesy of The Big Picture on Boston.com, some of the world's finest photographers captured extraordinary images of the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games. The photo essay is compiled chronologically in Part 1 and Part 2. Enjoy!

Monday, March 1, 2010

Yea - wasn't that a party?! 16 days, 17 nights of international good times, sporting excellence, shared human sadness, joy and pride. Our B & B's guests from Canada, the USA, the Netherlands and Switzerland enjoyed themselves immensely. Like tens of thousands of other visitors, they will carry the word that Vancouver is a "can do" city that is much more than just a pretty face.

Those of us who live here feel kind of lonesome today. Even as normal life picks up again, there is a strange kind of feeling that yes, the party's over and the guests are heading home, but dammit, didn't we just pull off something enormously difficult and complex in this post 9/11 world? We gave it our best effort and rolled with the punches.

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Most commentators today seem to think Vancouver did most all of it with panache and true Canadian decency. In Russia, Putin and company are firing all their top sports brass for their team's inadequate performance. The next Winter Olympics in Sochi look like a real struggle starting almost from scratch. In Britain, the organizers of the next Summer Olympics vow to learn from Vancouver's exceptional organization, volunteer effort and try to achieve something like the same warm national embrace. Sebastian Coe hopes for some of Vancouver' s "magic". With a budget already four times over budget, a cynical media and a dangerous security threat, good luck to them as well.

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Here in Canada and the USA , where television viewership set new ratings records, both countries have something to cheer about. The USA captured the most medals overall and the largest number they have won at any Winter Games. Canada, with one-tenth the population, also won more medals than ever before and more gold medals than any country has ever won at a Winter Olympic Games.

World news may now go on to politics as usual, the next disaster, NHL, NBA and NFL regular seasons, the World Cup in South Africa, the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, back to the stress and inevitable hating but we should all remember, that for two weeks in 2010, there was love and excitement and friendship in the air in Vancouver. And we did win that little hockey game too!